"I Feel Like This is a Bad Thing": Investigating Disassembly in Action for Novices

DOI

Materials are dynamic—they can be shaped and changed. Often however, our tools and technologies appear to fix materials in place. Disassembly is one practice that provides openings to explore and understand the dynamic nature of material. In this research, we investigate possibilities that emerge from disassembly. Specifically, we studied how novices disassembled a common digital artifact—desktop printers. We worked with 21 young people and family members across two evening workshops at a middle school. We report on the workshop interactions, categories of actions of disassembly, and four in-depth vignettes showcasing disassembly in action. In the discussion, we reflect on disassembly and permission, sustainability, the joy of disassembling, and design considerations in support of disassembly. Our contributions include: (1) extending existing theoretical framings about artifacts and materials; (2) an empirical study documenting the process by which novices disassemble; and (3) preliminary design and policy considerations that enable disassembly.